The River Thames: Geology and Early Settlement by Anne Tickell

The Thames Basin. Geological Map of Great Britain 1904 by Horace B Woodward. Public Domain.

Yesterday Anne talked to us about the geology and early settlement along the river Thames, providing insights into the early development of the Thames Basin and the first communities in London.

The Thames lies within a chalk trough with North Downs to the south and the Chiltern Hills to the north.

During the Cretaceous period Britain was still connected to Europe, Greenland and North America  by 60 metres of impermeable Gault Clays sat on Paleozoic mud and sandstones.  Above these clays were some greensand and a bed of white chalk about 200 metres thick.  London was still under warm tropical seas 50-60 million years ago and when the waters receded they left rich deposits of London Clay.  This clay supports most of the deep foundations and tunnels under London.

The origin of the Thames river system was much further north, almost opposite the Rhine.  The impact of the southerly movement of the last Ace Age 110,000 years to 11,000 years ago had the effect of pushing the course of the river to its present position in the south of England.

The river wore down through layers of chalk and some of the London Clay, leaving gravel terraces on its margins.  The chalk and clay formed an artesian basin with water trapped under the clay.  Keeping the water table in the right place is a balancing act.  It was high until, in the 1960s, we took too much out of the basin.  The waters in the basin have been allowed to rise again, but not to its natural limits or London’s tunnels and tubes would all be underwater.

Roman wall, Tower Hill

The Romans chose their crossing point near modern London bridge as it was relatively shallow and fordable.  There were also fairly solid shale deposits on both shores at this point and a small amount of high land on the south (present day Southwark) so a  pontoon bridge could be stretched across the water supported both sides of the river.   Most of the south of the river was marshy and under water so it took much longer to develop and originally it was full of gardens and pleasure activities, then small piecemeal factories and industries. and not till the building of the City Hall was any Government involvement.  This was followed by the construction of the Festival Hall which lead the way to the South Bank Complex.

The river gouges out the outer bends where it is easier for boats to land, so Richmond, Teddington, Twickenham, The City and Westminster, for instance, are all on the outer bends while the inner areas of the bend tend to benefit from fertility and therefore saw the establishment of large public gardens such as the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, Richmond Park and Ranelagh Gardens in Chelsea.  The Docks manipulated the Thames by running canals and docks through the loops  – West India Docks, London Docks, Surrey Docks and, largest of all the London dock networks, the Royal Docks.

The Thames mouth has always been managed to prevent flooding but the shore line still varies and development has not extended there in the same way as the rest of the Thames except for the large power stations and Tilbury docks.  It is still awaiting further development.

 

Short Presentations on Monday 23rd January

Every now and again we change the format of our meetings and on Monday we had a ‘shorts’ day with four 25-minute presentations: Henry Robinson Palmer, Carpenters Hall, The Silvertown Explosion and The East India Company in London.

Henry Robinson Palmer

Palmer’s suspension railway, 1822. Source: Grace’s Guide.

Barry gave us Henry Robinson Palmer (1795-1844), engineer and founder of the Institute of Civil Engineers, inventor of the monorail, the world’s first elevated railway and corrugated iron, which would be the miracle building material in the early days of Empire.

Palmer’s ideas for monorail transport of goods were first developed for the Victualling Yards at Deptford, then on a mile-long strip from a Cheshunt brick works to the River Lea. Another was developed in the Loire Valley in France but never opened and a further monorail ran in the West of Ireland from 1888—1924. As engineer at the London Docks from 1825-1835 Palmer adapted his monorail technology to sliding gates.

His second invention was corrugated iron but, more concerned with his monorail projects, he sold the patent for it immediately to his colleague Richard Walker who built a turps shed in 1830. Corrugated iron was a cheap, instant, light, pre-fabricated material which could be erected quickly by unskilled workers, making it ideal for industrial and other buildings, including Billingsgate and Prices Candles in Battersea.  As overseas territories were being developed, its sale and use boomed, especially in South Africa and Australia where 30,000 prefabricated corrugated iron buildings were erected in just one year 1854.

It was even awarded a royal warrant when Prince Albert ordered a corrugated iron ballroom for the grounds of Balmoral. Palmer would have made himself a lot more money with his second invention than he ever did with his first!

Carpenters Hall

Carpenters’ Hall, London. Source:  The Carpenters’ Company.

Jill spoke about Carpenters Hall. The Carpenters Guild was founded in 1271, had its first recorded references in 1333 and received its coat-of-arms in 1466. It separated from the Joiners Company and was the 26^th livery company in England. Its headquarters were established on Throckmorton Avenue, by London Wall, in 1429 and its ownership of valuable City and Docklands (Stratford) land has kept it wealthy since then, including the land sold for Liverpool Street Station and for the 2012 Olympics.

The Company’s splendid 1870’s Hall was badly damaged in the Blitz in 1941. It was rebuilt behind the façade and reopened in 1960. It is lined and decorated in wood and fuses original Tudor murals from the Company’s first hall and modern roundels. It is hired out for corporate events as well as the Company’s own meetings.

The Company had 63 acres of land in Stratford, some of which was sold for the building of the Olympic Games venues and park. A school originally set up by the Company to train local boys to become carpenters, joiners, cooks etc is now the Building Crafts College and trains 1,000 students a year.

The Silvertown Explosion

The Millennium Mills following the explosion. Source: Wikipedia

Fran’s presentation marked the centenary of the Silvertown Explosion on 19^th January 1917. This was the largest explosion ever to occur in the metropolis and caused serious loss of life and injury and massive destruction of the area of the Docklands where a fire at the Brunner, Mond and Co factory caused the plant to explode.

Brunner’s had been requisitioned for the production of TNT for the Western Front in WW1, despite being in a densely populated industrial area. The explosion killed 73, many of whom were children, and injured about 400. It destroyed many buildings and homes and badly damaged 70,000 more. The explosion was felt and heard as far away as Sandringham in Norfolk and the south coast and its fire could be seen in Guildford. Apparently windows at the Savoy Hotel were blown out.

The government paid out £3 million compensation to those affected and the damning report after it criticised the use of the venue for producing explosives and Brunners for negligence, but the findings were kept secret until the 1950s.

Immediately after the explosion the Port of London commissioned photographer John H. Avery to take photos of the damage at the site for their own compensation claim against the Government. He took 24 remarkable photos in difficult conditions and these are now at the Museum of London. The Museum has digitised them for the centenary of the explosion and they are available on their website.

A service of remembrance was held in January 2017 for descendants of those killed or affected by the explosion to mark a dark event in the history of WW1 London.

The East India Company

East India House by Thomas Malton, c.1800

Ian presented The East India Company in London. The Company was formed by Royal Charter in 1600 and operated until 1858 when Parliament ended their administration of India.

Their premises in London included East India House, a grand classical building on Leadenhall St, finally demolished in 1861. It was on the site of the Lloyd’s Building. The Company also owned 11 warehouse site, including Cutler Street warehouses until 1973. These are now offices, shops and cafes where 3,000 people work.

The EIC also owned the Free Trade Wharf and Ratcliff Wharf and built East India Docks in 1803 to secure valuable cargoes. They also built Commercial Rd in order to move goods from the new docks to the warehouses. These docks closed in 1967 and are now flats.

The EIC also built alms-houses on Poplar High Street and a Company chapel in 1650. The EIC training college in Hertfordshire still exists as Haileybury College, a public school. The East India Club still occupies a grand corner of St James’s Square in the West End.

This most powerful organization left a great mark on London.

 

Walks along the Thames with Footprints of London guide Rob Smith

For those who enjoy educational walks, Footprints of London guide Rob Smith’s “Walks Along The Thames” seem like a great idea. The first walk is in March.  You can see the other walks by clicking here, and you can book the walks on the Eventbrite website from that page.  Here’s the introduction:

“During 2017 Footprints of London guide Rob Smith will be leading a series of twelve guided walks along the Thames, looking at aspects of the river’s history along the way. Starting in the streets of East London, the walks will go out into the marshland and big skies of Essex and Kent before reaching the sea at Shoeburyness. The walks take in relatively unexplored places that offer some peaceful walking, yet are less than an hours train ride from central London. On the way Rob will talk about themes like industrial and military history, housing, film and archaeology. The story of London really is tied in with this part of the Thames.”

Thames River Crossings Conference, 13th May 2017

The Docklands History Group hosts a conference each year at the Museum of London Docklands in the West India Docks, where The Port of London Study Group is also based.  Chaired by Chris Ellmers, the conference for 2017 will be:  Thames River Crossings and will take place on 13th May.   as well as looking at the bridges and tunnels, the subjects to be covered will include frost fairs, the watermen and ferries,  and also the effect of river crossings on the development of London.

Booking has now opened for this event.    Click here to go to the Docklands History Group’s Conference page where more information is available, including the programme (available to download as a PDF), ticket and booking information and details of how to find the Museum of London Docklands.

The Egyptian Obelisk on Victoria Embankment: 3500 Years of Travel by Andie Byrnes

3500 years ago Thutmose III, a prominent king of 18th Dynasty Egypt, commissioned a pair of obelisks to be added to the great temple of Heliopolis, an important centre on the edge of modern day Cairo.  Andie explained that obelisks, tall pointed fingers of stone called “sunbeams” in ancient Egyptian, often flanked the monumental entrances to solar temples, and were inscribed with the names and titles of the king who erected them.  Excavated from a very fine granite that rarely fractured, the obelisks were transported first by barge and then by sledge to the already ancient temple of Heliopolis so that Thutomse III could leave his mark on it to mark his 30 years as ruler of Egypt, a practice engaged in by most Pharaohs.   Some 200 years after his death the obelisks received another set of inscriptions during the rule of Ramesses II, again providing the names and titles of the ruler, in two columns flanking the original ones.  1500 years later, when the temple of Heliopolis fell out of use, the Roman emperor Augustus had the obelisks moved to Alexandria where they stood until one of them was toppled by the earthquake of 1303.  They remained like this until a plan was put in place to remove the fallen obelisk to London.

The Cleopatra

Following the British defeat of Napoleon in Egypt at the Battle of the Nile, the Khedive of Egypt gifted the fallen obelisk to the British nation in 1819 in recognition of the role of Horatio Nelson and Ralph Abercrombie.  However, the British government was unwilling to fund the transportation of the obelisk it was not until 1877 that funds were eventually raised privately to ship the obelisk to England.  Three men were instrumental in this process:  Lt. Colonel Sir James Edward Alexander, engineer John Dixon, and investor Erasmus Wilson.  Between them, the project became a reality, and John Dixon’s design for a cigar-shaped iron tube to encompass the obelisk became a reality.  The parts for it were manufactured by The Thames Ironworks and it was shipped in parts for assembly in Alexandria.  After some difficulties, the obelisk was eventually enclosed in iron, was provided with watertight bulkheads, keels, a deck, a cabin, and a mast and sails, was named the Cleopatra, and was ready to be towed to England.  Towed by the steamship Olga, the obelisk left Alexandria on 21st September 1877 with a six-man crew on board the Cleopatra.

The plan to deliver the obelisk to England very nearly failed.  On 14th October, the Olga, with the Cleopatra in tow, hit a bad storm in the Bay of Biscay.  The iron bar balast of the Cleopatra shifted, leaving the barge at a 45 degree angle and it was decided that the crew should be rescued.  Six volunteers set out on a lifeboat from the Olga, but their rescue attempt ended in tragedy, with all six volunteers lost when the lifeboat broke up against the hull of the Cleopatra.  An unmanned lifeboat was eventually sent out, the crew was rescued, and the Cleopatra was cut loose.  That could have been the end to the story, but the vessel was spotted by a Spanish fishing trawler and was retrieved by a Scottish steamer for salvage.  After repairs were carried out in Spain and a salvage award agreed, the final leg of the trip was completed successfully with an ocean-going tug.  When she arrived on the Thames, the Cleopatra became an instant tourist attraction, and when she eventually reached Westminster crowds of people came to see her.  Sadly, she was sent for scrap after being broken up to release the obelisk onto a wooden cradle at low tide.

Raising the Obelisk. Illustrated London News

The final part of the obelisk’s journey was its trip up the flight of the pre-existing Adelphi stairs just west of Waterloo Bridge onto a a granite plinth that had been prepared for its arrival.  A giant scaffolding had been erected over the plinth, and once the obelisk had been manoeuvred up the stairs with the aid of hydraulic jacks, it was provided with a metal collar and band of metal that circled the base, both of which were used to winch it up the scaffolding horizontally, so that it could be swung into position.  This took a number of weeks and attracted the attention of both celebrities and the general public alike.  Once installed, with all the main contributors to its arrival present, including he captain of the Cleopatra, it was decided to supply the obelisk with some Victorian embellishments, including two sphinxes flanking it and a suitably themed bronze collar at its base.   These are present to this day, although one of the sphinxes was damaged by a bomb dropped from a German Gotha in the First World War.  Plaques on the plinth explain its commemorative purpose, give a little history of the obelisk and provide a memorial to the six men who lost their lives on the Olga‘s lifeboat.   The obelisk quickly became a popular tourist attraction and was captured in art and literature.  It has been cleaned many times and continues to be a popular London attraction 3500 years after it was created from Aswan granite and erected in Heliopolis.

Obelisks were usually created in pairs and in the case of the Embankment obelisk, its twin is now in Central Park in New York.  Although the Embankment obelisk is generally known as Cleopatra’s Needle, it predated Cleopatra by over 1000 years.  It remains one of London’s most remarkable landmarks.

Our Spring 2017 programme is now online

Please find our Spring 2017 programme on our Programme page.  It lists all the presentations and visiting lectures lined up for January to March. It is looking like a really great term ahead.  Short summaries of all our presentations will be forthcoming after they have been delivered, but if you would like to join us for each two hour session on a Monday morning between 11am and 1pm, please see our Join Us page – we would love to welcome you.

St Anne’s Limehouse by Hawksmoor. Photograph by Steve Cadman, sourced from Wikipedia.

Presentations upcoming for Spring 2017

The Victoria Embankment Obelisk ready for installation, from the Illustrated London News

We are currently finalizing the programme for Spring 2017, which takes us from the 16th January until the end of March.

As the titles are coming in, we are glad to report that the programme includes some great topics.  Already in the line-up are, in no particular order are:  Why the London Docks Were Built;  Allhallows… A New Seaside Resort in the Making!; Robert Milligan;  The Egyptian Obelisk on Victoria Embankment – A 3500 Year Journey; The Buildings of the East India Company.  Other titles are being finalized and will be published here soon.